The Cat Stole My Pants (Timmy Failure #6)

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The Cat Stole My Pants (Timmy Failure #6)

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Author(s)

Stephan Pastis

Publisher

Candlewick Press

Genre(s)

Age Range

Release Date

April 25, 2017

ISBN

9780763697334

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In the sixth book in Stephan Pastis’s hilarious series, Timmy is being threatened and must rely on his new partner to solve the mystery — and possibly save his life! Timmy is in Key West, Florida, ostensibly for the honeymoon of his mother and Doorman Dave — if they even got married, which Timmy doubts. Unfortunately for Timmy, crime doesn’t take a vacation. And because Total has fled to Cuba seeking political asylum, Timmy must rely on a new partner for help: Doorman Dave’s nephew Emilio. Meanwhile, a surprise newcomer shows up in Timmy’s life and, as if things couldn’t get more hectic, Timmy’s pants have been stolen by a six-toed cat.

In the sixth book in Stephan Pastis’s hilarious series, Timmy is being threatened and must rely on his new partner to solve the mystery — and possibly save his life!

Timmy is in Key West, Florida, ostensibly for the honeymoon of his mother and Doorman Dave — if they even got married, which Timmy doubts. Unfortunately for Timmy, crime doesn’t take a vacation. And because Total has fled to Cuba seeking political asylum, Timmy must rely on a new partner for help: Doorman Dave’s nephew Emilio. Meanwhile, a surprise newcomer shows up in Timmy’s life and, as if things couldn’t get more hectic, Timmy’s pants have been stolen by a six-toed cat.

Editor reviews

2 reviews

Hold onto your pants- cats are evil!

June 12, 2017 (Updated: July 01, 2026)

Overall rating

4.0

Plot

4.0

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

4.0

Timmy finds himself in Key West, Florida, ostensibly on his mother's honeymoon. He doesn't believe she really married Doorman Dave, but nonetheless he is there with Dave's nephew Emilio, who is supposed to be his intern in his detective agency. Since Total, his polar bear, has decided to swim to Cuba, Timmy does need staff, but he doesn't feel that Emilio is competent. There is a mystery wherever Timmy goes, from the titular missing pants to the appearance of odd and somehow threatening notes. Timmy's mother never understands the demands of his career and has signed him up for summer school with Corinna Corinna, and even has her Skype with him. The class assignment is reading three very long books and reporting on them, which Total offers to do as long as Timmy provides cash for him to buy food in Cuba. Timmy is surprised to meet a shadowy figure from his past who sheds some light on issues that had been bothering him, and who also solves one of he mysteries.

Good Points

For people who do not read Pastis' comic strip Pearls Before Swine in the daily newspaper, my students are inordinately fond of Timmy Failure. Notebook Novels such as Tashjian's Einstein: Class Hamster, Pichon's Tom Gates and Patterson's Middle School books are never on the shelves. The short chapters, goofy characters and plentiful illustrations make these books a welcome respite from the more series, text-heavy books that language arts teachers like to assign.

In some ways, Timmy is a modern day Encyclopedia Brown, if we can imagine Encyclopedia hallucinating about having a polar bear around instead of Sally Kimball. The mysteries concern some neighborhood occurrence and are easily solved by looking at the obvious clues. The main difference between the two is that Encyclopedia looked at actual clues, whereas Timmy has a tendency to decide on random perpetrators because he thinks they look shifty.

There are very few books set in Key West, even though it is a fascinating place. Holm's Turtle in Paradise and the sequel, Full of Beans, are the only two that I can think of. If this summer is so busy that a real holiday isn't going to happen, adventuresome readers can take a virtual trip to the sunny land of Hemingway and his mitten pawed cats-- and not even have to worry that someone will steal their pants.